An ancestor of mine had a small coin collection with an occasional odd ball item like this one. This coin is pretty much the same size as a US nickel and appears to be made out of brass (best guess). That side of my family lived in that area of NY in the 2nd half of the 19th Century, so Buffalo may refer to the city. I'm thinking that it could be a Civil War token, but the 11 cents seems too high. Though the look of the shield and stars strikes me as being from that era.

The text on the coin is "A Buffalo Never Kicks - Eleven Cents Please"

Any information or even well thought out guesses as to when and why this was made would be greatly appreciated. (And No, I have no plans on being able to retire on this coin. I'm just really curious.) Thanks!